Instrument for applying so-called staple sutures



Oct. 11, 1966 H. RYGG INSTRUMENT FOR APPLYING SO-CALLED STAPLE SUIURESFiled July 22, 1964 INVENTOR. Ill/G KYQG v 'J v United States PatentINSTRUMENT FOR APPLYING SO-CALLEI) STAPLE SUTURES Inge H. Rygg,Charlottenlund, Denmark, assignor to Aktiebolaget CV Heljestrand,Esldlstuna, Sweden Filed July 22, 1964, Ser. No. 384,481

Claims priority, application Sweden, July 24, 1963,

8,219/ 63 7 Claims. (Cl. 227-143) This invention relates to aninstrument for applying so-called staple sutures.

The object of the invention has been to provide a simple and cheapinstrument of the just mentioned kind, which is easy to handle andenables a very precise and reliable application of staple sutures,consisting of a tissue amicable material.

To the just mentioned end of the instrument according to the presentinvention is essentially characterized in that it consists of twoportions, one of them being a capsule containing one staple and theother one being a clamping device, the latter having two legs which aremovable towards and away from each other, one of said legs having theouter end thereof formed as a staple anvil and the other one of saidlegs having the end thereof formed with an essentially T-shaped head.The shape of said legs is dependent on and adapted to the shape of thecapsule with the staple contained therein. The T- shaped head is adaptedto be introduced into a magazine to grip the capsule therein and toremove the capsule from the magazine, and then, as said legs of theclamping device are brought together, to act as a driving means to forcesaid staple out of the capsule and bend said staple within the tissueunder pressure against the anvil on the other leg end. In this case itis essential that the anvil on said leg end is correctly adapted to thecapsule, and that the recesses in said anvil are correctly shaped so asto ensure a satisfying bending of said staple within the tissue.

According to the invention it has been found particularly advantageousto form the staple capsules, being a portion of the instrument, in theshape of guide rails of an oval cross-section, having one side and bothends open to enable introduction of the T-shaped head from one end andfurther displacement thereof through said capsule to expel said staple.It has been found to be preferable to make the axial length of thecapsules about twice the height of staples, and to make the height ofthe head on the leg of the clamping meansessentially the same as theheight of the staples.

The invention will be disclosed in more details hereinafter withreference had to the accompanying drawing.

FIGURE 1 shows as an example one embodiment of the clamping meansforming one part of the instrument according to the invention and beingmade in a tweezerlike form;

FIGURE 2 illustrates another embodiment of the clamping means part ofthe instrument according to the invention, shaped as a pliers;

FIGURE 3 shows to an enlarged scale the outermost end portion of one ofthe legs of the pliers;

FIGURE 4 illustrates a capsule, housing one staple;

FIGURE 5 illustrates a magazine;

FIGURES 6 and 7 illustrate two steps in the utilization of theinstrument according to the invention when applying a staple suture.

The clamping part of the instrument 10 according to the invention, shownas an example in FIG. 2 has two crossed, pivotally connected legs 11,12. One of the legs 11 has on the outermost end thereof a staple anvil13 facing the other leg 12. The last mentioned leg 12 has at theoutermost end thereof a T-shaped head 14, FIG. 3.

3,278,107 Patented Oct. 11, 1966 The capsule 15 housing a staple 16 isshown in FIG. 4. Each one of the capsules houses one staple 16 of anordinary, U-shaped design, which staple is made of a tissue amicablematerial such as rustproof suture wire. The capsule 15 has been designedas a guide rail, having both ends open and being of an ovalcross-sectional shape with one wall open. The staple capsules arearranged in a row in a magazine 18, and they are biased in direction toone of the open ends of the magazine by means of a spring 19. In frontof the opening 17 of the staple capsules the magazine 18 is formed witha similar opening 20, and in the uppermost wall the magazine has anopening 21 aligned with the foremost capsule in the row to enablewithdrawal of said capsules.

The axial length of each one of the staple capsules 15 is about twicethe height of the staples 16, and the T shaped head 14 on the endportion of the leg 12 is of about the same height as that of thestaples.

The instrument so far described is utilized in the following manner forapplying so-called staple sutures:

First, the T-shaped head 14 is introduced into the uppermost portion ofthe foremost staple capsule 15 in the magazine 18, which capsule thenfrictionally grips the head 14 so that when the leg 12 moves away fromthe magazine the capsule may be withdrawn out through the opening 21. Toimprove the grip of the head 14 on the inner surface of the capsule theleg end 12 with said head 14 may be provided with a slot 22, in whichcase the shanks on either side of the slot 22 are slightly bent apartfrom each other and are resiliently forced together as said head isintroduced into the capsule 15.

Then, the capsule 15 housing the staple of a tissue amicable material islifted out of the magazine 18, after which the instrument is moved tothe place where the staple suture is to be applied, FIG. 5. Thereafter,as the legs are brought together, the staple will be forced out of thecapsule 15 and into as well as through the tissues 23, 24, after whichthe staple 16 is bent against said anvil 13, which latter for thispurpose has specially shaped recesses 25 which ensure the correctbending of the staple suture within the tissue, so as required from thesuture for the just mentioned purpose.

The clamping means part as shown in FIG. 1 corresponds to the principaldesign thereof entirely with that of the clamping means part as shown inFIG. 2, with the exception that it is made in a tweezer-like shape.

The advantages of the instrument according to the invention appear to beso obvious to those skilled in the art that any description thereofought to be superfluous. Therefore, there only remains to mention thatnumerous modifications and alterations as to details may be carried outwithin the limits of the inventive idea.

What I claim is:

1. Means for app-lying staple sutures into tissues comprising, a staplemagazine and staple-clamping means, the clamping means having two legsmovable toward or away from one another, one of the legs having ananvil-shaped end provided with recesses shaped to deform a staple, theoutermost end of the second leg being provided with a gripping head; themagazine being a unit separate from the clamping means, the magazinecontaining at least one capsule in which a staple is housed, saidcapsule being arranged to be gripped by the gripping head of theclamping means while the capsule is contained within the magazine andwithdrawn from the magazine by movement of the clamping means relativelyto the magazine; the staple within the capsule thus carried by the headbeing expelled from within the capsule by bringing the ends of the legsof the clamping means forcibly against each other on opposite sides ofthe tissue to secure parts thereof together.

2. Means according to claim 1, wherein the axial length of said capsuleis about twice the height of the staple and wherein the height of thehead of the leg of said clamping means is essentially the same as theheight of said staple.

3. Means according to claim 1, wherein the staplecontaining capsules areshaped as a guide rail of an oval cross-section, both ends of thecapsule being open to enable the introduction of the head on one end ofone leg of the clamping means when said head is entered through one ofthe open ends of the capsule and then moved through the capsule to allowthe expulsion of the staple out of the other openend of the capsule tocause the staple to be forced into the tissue.

4. Means according to claim 1, wherein the magazine consists of anelongated element containing a plurality of staple-holding capsulesplaced one behind the other in the magazine, the magazine being open atone end and the capsules being biased toward said open end, the head onone of the legs of the clamping means being substantially T-shaped forentry through the open end of the magazine to fit into the capsulelocated thereat and remove said capsule from the magazine and thereafterexpel the staple from the withdrawn capsule by the bringing together ofthe two legs of the clamping means.

5. Means according to claim 1 in which the gripping head is slotted todivide it into resilient sections which frictionally grip the interiorsurfaces of the capsule and enable the capsule to be withdrawn from themagazine and carried by the gripping head to the point of insertion ofthe staple.

6. Means for applying staple sutures comprising, a

staple capsule of substantially channel shape, a clamping tool havingpivotally joined legs, one of the legs having an anvil at one end andthe second leg having a bifurcated end conforming in cross section tothe interior shape of the capsule so that when said end of the tool isinserted within the capsule it will frictionally grip the inner surfacesof the capsule and enable the capsule to be carried to a point ofapplication of the staple by the clamping tool, the capsule beingcarried by the bifurcated end solely by its gripping engagement with thecapsule, a staple contained within the capsule and positioned at one endthereof so that when the bifurcated end of the clamping tool is insertedinto the capsule to thereby pick up the capsule, the bifurcated end canbe inserted so that it will not dislodge the staple from within thecapsule.

7. Means for applying staple sutures according to claim 6, wherein thecapsule is one of a row of similar capsules housed in a magazine, saidmagazine having end and top openings, spring means for biasing the rowof capsules toward the end opening to thereby cause the foremost capsulein the row to be exposed at the end opening and top opening, thebifurcated end of the clamping tool being entrant through said openingsto enable it to engage the foremost capsule and lift it from out of themagazine.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS GRANVILLE Y.CUSTER, JR., Primary Examiner.

1. MEANS FOR APPLYING STAPLE SUTURES INTO TISSUES COMPRISING, A STAPLEMAGAZINE AND STAPLE-CLAMPING MEANS, THE CLAMPING MEANS HAVING TWO LEGSMOVABLE TOWARD OR AWAY FROM ONE ANOTHER, ONE OF THE LEGS HAVING ANANVIL-SHAPED END PROVIDED WITH RECESSES SHAPED TO DEFORM A STAPLE, THEOUTERMOST END OF THE SECOND LEG BEING PROVIDED WITH A GRIPPING HEAD; THEMAGAZINE BEING A UNIT SEPARATE FROM THE CLAMPING MEANS, THE MAGAZINECONTAINING AT LEAST ONE CAPSULE IN WHICH A STAPLE IS HOUSED, SAIDCAPSULE BEING ARRANGED TO BE GRIPPED BY THE GRIPPING HEAD OF THECLAMPING MEANS WHILE THE CAPSULE IS CONTAINED WITHIN THE MAGAZINE ANDWITHDRAWN FROM THE MAGAZINE BY MOVEMENT OF THE CLAMPING MEANS RELATIVELYTO THE MAGAZINE; THE STAPLE WITHIN THE CAPSULE THUS CARRIED BY THE HEADBEING EXPELLED FROM WITHIN THE CAPSULE BY BRINGING THE ENDS OF THE LEGSOF THE CLAMPING MEANS FORCIBLY AGAINST EACH OTHER ON OPPOSITE SIDES OFTHE TISSUE TO SECURE PARTS THEREOF TOGETHER.